Did you know that diabetes can lead to life-threatening complications like heart and kidney disease? If you are living with diabetes, take the Multi-Risk Factor test on the Beyond Sugar website to know if you are at risk of those complications.
IT is no wonder we hold the title of being the “sweetest nation in Asia”, with one in five Malaysians having been diagnosed with diabetes which translates to some 3.9 million people.
In light of this “silent pandemic”, AstraZeneca in partnership with the Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society (MEMS) has established a public health campaign called Beyond Sugar and recently held a webinar to educate the Malaysian community on Nov 21.
Organised by Star Media Group (SMG), the webinar titled Beyond Sugar: Don't Sugar Coat Diabetes tackled common misconceptions surrounding diabetes and how these myths can dangerously lead to serious diabetes complications.
More to it than sugar
During the webinar, consultant endocrinologist and MEMS project lead for the Beyond Sugar campaign Dr Foo Siew Hui shared insights to the recently conducted Malaysian Diabetes Index (MDI) and the misconceptions Malaysians face when it comes to diabetes.
She noted there are some gaps in knowledge among the 2,539 people surveyed, with one in three respondents believing that cutting out sugar is enough, while 51% think that diabetes is not difficult to manage.
Dr Foo added that from the thousands surveyed, one-third are already living with diabetes and their response was no better than those without diabetes, as 37% of respondents also think cutting down on sugar is enough.
“Diabetes is a complicated disease; it's not just about cutting out sugar. It’s one of the most difficult conditions to manage as it's not just about popping pills. You need to go through significant lifestyle and behavioral changes and these are one of the most difficult things to do,” she said.
She added that there is no one reason that leads to the disease.
“While the majority diagnosed are overweight, we are seeing more slim and young people being diagnosed and this is due to cross-generation diabetes,” she said, adding that this may occur during conception or while still in the womb.
Another alarming misconception is that 52% revealed that they do not know diabetes cannot be cured.
“You may experience remission in diabetes, but in general there is no cure. You can control it and go off medication if you lose a significant amount of weight, but if you put that weight back on, diabetes will reappear,” she said.
Heart of the matter
While almost all respondents are aware of some diabetes related complications such as amputation, eye damage and nerve damage, one quarter of them are not aware that the deadliest complication is heart disease.
She said only 75% of respondents are aware that heart disease is a diabetes-related complication, with more awareness among the younger respondents.
“The reality of diabetes complications is that two-thirds of people living with diabetes die from cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke among others,” she said.
She said this is because diabetes itself – along with all its complications – are related to problems with blood vessels which tend to get blocked easily, on top of other risks such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and excess body weight that would contribute to heart attacks and strokes.
Another complication that is not well-known, she added, is fatty liver. If you have this along with diabetes, your risk of complications, such as the hardening of the liver including liver cancer would be increased.
Dr Foo said poorly controlled diabetes also increases the risk of infective complications.
“There is no evidence that the chances of people living with diabetes contracting Covid-19 are higher, but the risk of experiencing severe Covid-19 is higher,” she said, adding that around 40% of Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia are people with diabetes.
With 90% of respondents aware that diabetes can cause kidney damage, MedTweetMY vice president Dr Rafidah Abdullah, consultant in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Department of Medicine, Hospital Putrajaya, shed light on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Malaysia and diabetes.
“One of the main reasons for CKD in Malaysia is diabetes and by the time they are diagnosed, they already have complications such as CKD and of the heart.
“The kidney and heart are related. The kidney can cause heart problems and vice versa,” she said
She added that early testing of protein in the urine and blood test for kidney function is crucial to prevent progression of kidney disease. Kidney disease may already be a present diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
Beyond Sugar webcomic
Participants were treated to a special appearance of webcomic artist Ernest Ng, who developed the Beyond Sugar webcomic project that discusses the diabetes risk factors alongside the complications of heart diseases and chronic kidney damage.
“I’m trying to balance health awareness (of diabetes) with entertainment value. I’ve included (comic) elements that are familiar like Japanese manga or anime so that people would continue reading with the hopes of readers realising or thinking about getting tested,” said Ng.
Initiatives Beyond Sugar
As part of the Beyond Sugar campaign, Malaysians living with diabetes can interact with the live chatbot on the Beyond Sugar website to take the Multiple-Risk Factor test and identify if they are at risk of developing heart or kidney complications.
For those living with diabetes found at risk of developing kidney complications, the bot can advise if a uACR (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio) test is required and share free uACR test vouches that can be used at 300 participating clinics nationwide.
For more information, visit www.beyondsugar.my and watch the webinar here.
MY_DM_MY-8108_30/11/2021
